


As the World Caves In

by melons



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Luther Hargreeves Being an Asshole, Pre-Canon, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Season/Series 01, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melons/pseuds/melons
Summary: Despite all the trauma Dad gave them, the kids manage to support each other and keep each other happy and protected.So how did we get here?
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Kudos: 44





	As the World Caves In

**Author's Note:**

> sorry in advance i havent written anything in like a year womp womp

The sound of a lilting, melancholy tune filled the hallways of the Hargreeves residence. Since Vanya didn’t have training like the rest of the siblings, her time was spent practicing the violin either in her room or in the living room. The practice was fit into her schedule by Dad since she had taken an interest in it, but her lessons weren’t lonely. Though a young Vanya stands with her eyes closed in the middle of her room, off to the side sit three other boys. Ben and Five sat in separate chairs, reading a book, while Klaus sits on the floor, painting his nails. They all sit in silence as Vanya masterfully plays out the newest song she’s learned, never once messing up. As the song slowly comes to a halt, and she opens her eyes, she’s greeted by all three of the boys smiling at her as they all immediately compliment how far she’s come in her lessons and how quickly she’s picked up the violin. She stands almost awkwardly, but grins from ear to ear. Even though their dad is strict, nothing he can do will stop them from spending time with one another. Moments like these feel like they’ll never end. 

They would have sleepovers in each other’s rooms every so often. Klaus remembers Ben and him dancing to Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, sitting on the floor and talking with Five about a new book he’s read and letting him infodump all the new things he’s learned, and painting Vanya and Ben’s nails while Five sat to the side and chatted with them. The amount of shit-talk towards Dad or Luther that happened in that room would always be a fond memory. Sometimes Vanya would bring her violin down the hall to Klaus and Ben’s room and they’d all relax and listen to her beautiful music. Other times, one of them would have a bad dream and wake up to another sibling worrying over them (usually Klaus was the one who had nightmares, but it was better to be woken up by one of his sibling’s alive faces rather than their dead ones peering back at him in his dream). It got to the point that Mom knew they’d visit each other when Dad was in his office and would bring them snacks as a treat. She loved seeing them be allowed to actually be kids for once, not superheroes. It was refreshing for her, so she never told Pogo or Dad. It was their shared little secret. 

Ben has to see every time Dad scolds Klaus for anything he does. Whether that’s writing on the walls or smoking in the house, since they share a room, he’s an unfortunate witness to the verbal lashing Klaus receives, and has to see the fear in the other boy’s eyes when Dad drags him out of the room by his arm for “special training.” Since Klaus’s special training used to be at a specific time every week, the boy would just smoke or take a couple pills beforehand so he could make it through however many hours he was trapped in the mausoleum unscathed mentally. But of course Dad found out. After the first time Dad showed up unannounced to take Klaus away, right after dinner one night when the kids should be having their thirty minutes of recreational time (wow, generous, aren’t we Dad?), Ben’s gotten used to seeing his brother constantly high. He knows that it’s the best way for Klaus to make it through the rigorous training without being pushed to the brink mentally, but it still hurts to see. But every time that Klaus would act out against his Dad, even a little bit, he couldn’t help but be proud. No one stands up to Dad. So, when a week straight of Klaus writing on the walls and being forced to repaint it each night came, he would sit on his bed in the other corner of the room and share a look of amusement with his brother. The kid was stubborn, that’s for sure, even though he could tell that every time he got yelled at, he was absolutely terrified and just covered it up with jokes and cockiness. The day that Dad simply stood in the doorway, saw the writing on the wall, and simply sighed and left the room after telling them that dinner would be ready in 30 minutes, they both jumped up and quietly celebrated. He did it. He really broke Dad by being stubborn. Who knew it was possible? 

Klaus gets kicked out of the Academy on his 18th birthday after he fights back against Dad trying to drag him off to special training. He’s called every name in the book; junkie, lowlife, deadweight, fuck-up, you name it. It’s nothing new though; he’d been hearing it for years from Luther, and could see it in his siblings’ eyes when he’d come home noticeably drunk or high. Those names were just something that followed him around nowadays, like it’d become a part of him as a person. So he grabbed one backpack full of clothes and whatever else he “needed,” like his lighters and stash, along with whatever valuables he’d taken from Dad and hidden in his room in case something like this happened, and hit the road. He didn’t want to be there anyways. He traveled around for a bit, hopping from bus to bus, going to clubs and pawning those valuables for cash, meeting seedy people in questionable places hoping they’d give him a bit of relief in exchange for anything other than money. It wasn’t a way to live, and he knew that. He could see it every time he looked in the mirror and slowly started to recognize himself less and less. So, he went back to his hometown. And he called up anyone he could. Luther wouldn’t let him stay with him and he knew it, so he didn’t even bother trying him; Allison was off living the high life in a different way than he did, what with her suddenly shooting to stardom; Five was MIA, but not dead. Not dead, thank God. Just not reachable. He could hear Ben telling him to just get a hotel for the night, that it’s okay and he’ll be safe, but he doesn’t want to stay in some cheap motel again. He knows they both don’t want that. 

So, he called Diego. And surprisingly, he picks up. Klaus tells him where he’s at and explains that he just needs somewhere to stay for a little while, that he’ll be out of his hair by the end of the week, even though internally he’s pleading that he wants to stay with him please dear God Diego just let him stay for a bit longer than a week. And Diego agrees to him sleeping on his couch for a bit, and sounds like he’s just glad to know that his brother is alive. It puts a weight in Klaus’s stomach when he hears Diego’s relieved tone, and he reminds himself to call Vanya and Allison when he gets to Diego’s house as he tells his brother where he is. When he gets picked up, he’s all smiles, even as Diego says that he looks like a trainwreck and asks where he’s been. He’s been through hell and back, haven’t you heard? But it’s okay, because now he’s here, and he’ll be here for as long as Diego will let him. 

He’s out by the end of the week. Diego got sick of flushing Klaus’s stashes only for him to pop back into the apartment high again. Klaus fucked up again. Another bridge burned. 

He thinks about calling Vanya now that she has her own place, but he couldn’t do that to her. They were so close as kids, and now they barely talk. It’s not fair to her. Nothing in life has been fair to any of them. He might as well try not to make it worse. So, he’s back on the streets, and back to his old routine, living dangerously and not really caring what happens to him as long as he’s fucked up. He calls his siblings every so often to catch up, but they start picking up less and less, to the point that he’s sent to voicemail even on their birthday. Vanya holds on the longest before avoiding him. She’s always been too sweet, and Klaus can’t help the pang of guilt in his chest the last time he calls her. He hears the first ring after dialing her number and just hangs up. It’s not his place. 

He’s in another dirty hotel room right out of rehab (again) when he hears the news. Dear old Dad has finally passed, and both he and Ben just look at each other in shock, before he bursts out laughing. Neither of them can believe it. He jumps up and shrugs on his coat, pops another couple pills, and ditches the motel. It’s fine, he charged it to some random guy’s card that he stole anyway, not like he has to worry about wasting money. They both make their way to their old house, and Klaus begins to feel the dread set in. He’d been turned away by all his siblings; hell, the only one that’s still around is forced to be here, and they’ve gotten into plenty of arguments over the years. He knows no one wants to be around him. But he forces his legs to carry him all the way back to the Academy and opens the doors only to head straight back to his room. Ben looks relieved to be back here, but all Klaus can think of is Dad telling him how worthless he is and kicking him out. He decides to head to the bar and steal some liquor before stealing a skirt from Allison (she always had the best clothes, though not necessarily his favorite style), and heading to Dad’s office to see what he can pawn. 

When he sees all his siblings, he’s all smiles and jokes and covered up hurt. But it’s easy for them to forget how they made him feel. They haven’t had to see him for years. It’s not like he can blame them though, he wouldn’t want to deal with his shit either. Hell, he doesn’t; half of the reason why he’s constantly fucked up at this point is so that he can detach himself from his brain and anything happening to him. He’d rather feel like he’s out of his body than be painfully aware of how shitty of a person he is. It’s better this way. And everything’s all fine and dandy, hurt feelings ignored and covered up until Allison asks if he’s high and he can see the anger and shame in his siblings' eyes. And it hits him at that moment as he cracks another joke to act like it doesn’t bother him. He’ll always just be the family fuck up. Nothing is ever going to change to them, he’ll always be a disappointment, just a junkie to them, not their brother who he thought loved him when they were kids. Only Vanya looks like she understands why he’s like this even now. 

Every moment that he’s in that house, he remembers why he wanted to leave. 

Even without Dad there, he’s still treated like a mistake. 

Fuck this.

When everyone leaves, he grabs a glass from beneath the bar and fills it to the brim with the strongest whiskey in the house.

Cheers.

**Author's Note:**

> my brain be like how about Klaus is a delusional attachment? here's a bunch of mems.
> 
> and then I'm legally obliged to write a fic about it
> 
> also hey if ur a kin acc follow my insta @melohns mwah sayonara bitches


End file.
